


there's no denying the truth (there's something about him)

by quiddative



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Lawyers, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dogs, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Lawyers, M/M, Meet-Cute, Past Adam/Shiro (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-18
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-10-31 05:08:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17843057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quiddative/pseuds/quiddative
Summary: The client was a man called Takashi Shirogane, a veteran in his early thirties who was now a partner at a very successful architectural firm. He was currently in the middle of a divorce with his husband of five years and filing a claim of ownership for—“A dog?” Lance guffawed. Sure, he was used to the firm’s filthy rich clients suing and being sued for the most ridiculous things, but a dog? That was a new one.Exactly what it says on the tin: Lance is a divorce lawyer, Shiro is a divorcee who's just trying to get his dog back.





	there's no denying the truth (there's something about him)

**Author's Note:**

> Ahhh! Happy belated Valentine's Day pukotort! I was your secret Shance VDay exchange gifter! I took your prompt "first meet like in 101 Dalmatians" and may have run away with it a bit, but there is at least one dog involved! I hope you enjoy ♥
> 
> Thank you so much to the Shance Support Squad and Shance Cafe mods for organizing this! I had such a blast!

Lance could hear Romelle’s heels clicking ominously towards him in the kitchen just seconds before the firm’s operations manager dropped a thin dossier in front of him, narrowly missing his yogurt and coffee. “Head to conference room 252 when you’re done, will you?” she said without preamble, because she clearly hadn’t been raised right.

“What’s in conference room 252?” Lance asked warily. It was the largest and most ostentatious one in their firm, so it was usually reserved for their biggest clients.

Romelle gave him her trademark Cheshire cat smirk, which sent shivers down Lance’s spine. And not the good kind. “Why don’t you actually read your file and find out?”

Lance narrowed his eyes but did as she suggested (read: ordered) anyway. He learned early on that there were some fights that just weren’t worth it.

The client was a man called Takashi Shirogane, a veteran in his early thirties who was now a partner at a very successful architectural firm. He was currently in the middle of a divorce with his husband of five years and filing a claim of ownership for—

“A _dog?_ ” Lance guffawed. Sure, he was used to the firm’s filthy rich clients suing and being sued for the most ridiculous things, but a dog? That was a new one.

He waited for Romelle to tell him that she was joking. He may have been with the firm for just a little over six months but still got called ‘baby lawyer’ more times than his actual name, so it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. Lawyers, he discovered early on, were dangerous pranksters.

But Romelle either had a really, really good poker face (which she did) or this was actually happening because she just nodded like this was just another run of the mill case for their firm and not a completely outrageous fact pattern that would have been more at home in one of Lance’s eccentric torts professor’s tests. “His name is Guinness and he’s a three year old black lab. He’s adorable.”

“Wait, you know this guy?”

“Yeah, he and Allura go way back,” said Romelle, referring to one of the two name partners of Castle & Sincline LLP, who also happened to be the woman Lance swore he would go to war for from the moment he shook hands with her in his interview. “She offered to have the firm handle this as a favour for him.”

Lance gulped. It wasn’t that he wasn’t capable of handling a bizarre yet fairly cut-and-dry divorce case, but this was a friend of _Allura’s_ they were talking about here. Failure was unacceptable.

Romelle patted him on the head. “Well, get to it, baby lawyer.”

Lance didn’t need her to tell him twice.

* * *

“Good morning, Mr. Shirogane, I’m Lance and I’ll be the lawyer handling...your...case.”

Lance’s eyes finally landed on the prodigal client, who was standing by the window overlooking the city’s skyline, and his brain promptly shut down.

What both Romelle and the dossier failed to mention was that the guy was _gorgeous_. He was tall, probably even taller than Hunk, and had thick tree trunks for arms and broad shoulders that went on for almost as many miles as his powerful legs.

Then the guy turned around and Lance could literally feel his soul ascend. If this man had the body of a model, then he had a face that would have made Michelangelo cry.

His first thought was, _Holy crow, who the heck would divorce a man like that?_ , which was immediately followed by, _Welp, their loss, my gain._

(Yeah, Lance knew he was shameless, but if he cared about things like that, he wouldn’t have bothered with law school in the first place.)

The man gave Lance a dazzling smile that made him think of a leading man from one of those classic black and white Hollywood films his Dad adored. “Please, call me Shiro.” He held his right hand out for Lance to shake—it was a prosthetic.

Lance blinked but carefully maintained a neutrally polite expression because his Mama didn’t raise him to be rude. “It’s nice to meet you, Shiro.”

He gestured for him to take a seat and they spent the first couple of minutes making the requisite small talk about the traffic and weather (“Labyrinthian and depressing, but what else is new?” Shiro joked, which was _so unfair_ because no one told Lance clients could be _charming_.) before Lance cleared his throat. “So, about your case…” he began hesitantly. Try as he might, he couldn’t bring himself to say the words, “ _So you and your ex-husband are fighting over a dog, huh?_ ” because one, Lance McClain-Serrano wasn’t an _asshole_ (well, at least not to his clients), and two, it still didn’t sound any less ridiculous now than it did when he first read the file ten minutes ago.

Shiro seemed to realize that as well because he let out a long-suffering sigh. “Yeah, it’s...weird and immature, I know,” he said, grinning apologetically. “Guinness was a third year anniversary gift from Adam.” He paused and seemed to consider something before continuing, “You know how some couples try to save their marriage with kids? In hindsight, I’m pretty sure Guinness was that for us.”

Lance winced. He could imagine how rough that would have been.

Shiro shook his head, as if trying to shake himself out of his memories. “Sorry, you don’t need to know all these silly details.”

“I don’t think they’re silly,” Lance told him earnestly. “It’s your life.”

If Lance’s old advocacy professor could see him now, he would probably have a hernia at the way he was behaving, completely disregarding his rule to never invite more information than was necessary from a client before getting their signature on a retainer agreement.

Shiro smiled gratefully and, once again, Lance wondered just what the heck this Adam was thinking to divorce a man like Shiro. “Thank you,” said Shiro. “That’s...actually really reassuring to hear.”

 _Oh no, he’s hot_ and _cute_ , Lance thought.

“Anyway, Adam was the one who bought Guinness, but we both contributed to his vet bills, food, and other stuff like that.” Shiro swallowed and Lance couldn’t help staring as his Adam’s apple bobbed delicately up and down his neck, suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to lick it.

He immediately stomped down on that thought because this was _so_ not the time.

“Adam is saying that, because he was the one who bought Guinness, that he should get to keep him,” Shiro explained. “I know it’s a long shot, but Guinness really means a lot to me.” He chewed his lip. “N-Not that Adam doesn’t care about Guinness—because he does!—but...he’s kind of been my dog more than his. I’m the one who always walks him and takes him to the vet at the first sign he’s ill, so…” he trailed off with a deep frown.

Lance wanted nothing more than to erase it from his handsome face. “Did Adam give you any other reasons for why he wanted to keep Guinness?” he asked, even though he suspected he already knew the answer.

Shiro snorted. “He didn’t _say_ it exactly, but...he implied that he was doing it to get back at me.”

 _Yep, there it is_ , Lance thought. “That’s awful,” he said sympathetically.

“I guess it’s partially my fault,” Shiro replied in a softer tone. “I kind of have a bad habit of getting too caught up in my work...and I’ll admit I probably didn’t spend as much time with Adam as I should have.

“But he knew this about me before we even got married—hell, we even joked about it in our vows,” he continued. “In hindsight, I think he thought he could change me after we got married, only…”

“‘Only’ nothing,” Lance interrupted, not unkindly. “Listen, Shiro, I might not know you that well yet, but I know that you have a good heart.” In spite of everything Lance had heard so far, he could tell that Shiro was hesitant to speak badly of his ex. And that _meant_ something in this area of law. “If Adam couldn’t see how lucky he was, then that’s on him, not you.”

Shiro’s gunmetal grey eyes widened, like this was a completely new revelation to him. “Oh,” he said faintly. “I...never thought about it that way.”

“Well, you better get used to it, because it’s the truth,” Lance told him firmly. “I know you think this is a long shot, but if Guinness was a gift, then you have a valid claim, and I’ll do everything I can to help you fight this.”

Professor Iverson was probably rolling in his—well, not grave, because he was still kicking the last time Lance checked—office, probably.

Shiro’s eyes grew brighter. “Thank you so much, Lance, that means a lot to me.” He sounded like he meant it, too.

After providing a little more background about Adam and their marriage, Shiro paused and took his phone out. “I should probably actually show you what Guinness looks like, huh?” he said, grinning shyly, reminding Lance of the way Luis would look just seconds before bringing out the newest batch of pictures of Lance’s niece and nephew.

“I _demand_ it,” Lance teased, already leaning forward for some doggy goodness.

And if he couldn’t help but notice that Shiro’s cologne had a hint of caramel in it, then that was between himself and the bottle of prosecco he just _knew_ he was going to end up opening tonight.

Guinness was just as cute as Romelle said he was. A brown man with glasses, whom Lance assumed was Adam, showed up here and there, but the majority of the photos and videos on Shiro’s phone was of himself and his dog.

There was a video of Shiro taking him to the park, another of Shiro grooming him, another of Shiro gently coaxing a nervous little girl with his nose and chin—a niece or cousin, Lance concluded—to pet Guinness (if Lance wasn’t already crushing hard on Shiro, that picture alone would have sealed the deal for him), and one of—

Lance abruptly sat up in his seat, spine ramrod straight, as he replayed the video.

“Lance?” Shiro prodded. “Are you okay?”

Throwing the last of Professor Iverson’s strict rules out the window, Lance turned to Shiro with a wide, beaming smile. “I know how we can win the case.”

* * *

If Lance had any doubts about the veracity of Shiro’s claim, they all vanished when Adam and his lawyer, Sanda, arrived at their firm the next morning with Guinness in tow.

The instant the black lab caught sight of Shiro, he shot forward like a rocket, only to be impeded by his leash. Lance was surprised Adam’s arm hadn’t been wrenched out of his socket.

“Down, Guinness,” Adam ordered, but it was clear that Guinness wasn’t paying him a whit of attention.

“Sit, Guinness,” Shiro said softly. His hands were fisted over his lap and one of his legs was twitching violently; he looked like he was seconds away from bolting out of his chair and rushing to his fur baby’s side. Lance reached over to squeeze his shoulder reassuringly and felt the older man relax slightly under his hand.

Guinness immediately dropped down to his haunches with a whine, his sad puppy eyes never leaving Shiro.

Lance raised one delicately plucked eyebrow at Sanda.

Sanda, to her credit, merely blinked as if to say, “ _Yes, so what if my client’s claim is bullshit? You still have to prove it, buddy._ ”

(Okay, she didn’t actually seem like the type of person who would even have the word ‘buddy’ in her vocabulary, but semantics.)

 _Oh, I will_ , Lance thought.

“Takashi,” said Adam as he took the seat across from him.

Shiro gulped. “Adam.”

“Gentlemen,” Sanda cut in brusquely. To Lance, she continued, “Let’s cut to the chase, shall we? While I understand that Mr. Shirogane and my client have both made financial contributions to the dog’s wellbeing, at the end of the day, my client’s name is the only one on the purchase agreement. Therefore, it is clear that the dog is his.”

“Really,” Lance said flatly.

Sanda nodded. “Yes, but Mr. Westfield is willing to settle if Mr. Shirogane withdraws his claim.”

“I don’t want any money,” Shiro said fiercely. “Nor do I care about the car and the house, I just…” He bit his lip. “I just want Guinness.”

Adam opened his mouth to respond but it was Sanda who got there first. “Unfortunately, Mr. Shirogane, my client is the only one who has a valid claim over the dog.”

“Actually,” Lance piped up, “he doesn’t.”

If looks could kill, he had no doubt that the frosty glare Sanda just sent him would have struck him dead on the spot.

“Oh?” Sanda challenged.

Sending a subtle wink at Shiro, Lance chirped, “You see, my client says that Guinness was a gift.”

“Do you have any evidence of this?”

Lance tried not to grin _too_ smugly as he pulled his phone out and played the video that Shiro had sent him earlier.

It started with Adam entering the house with Guinness, a six-month old puppy at the time, in his arms. He made eye contact with the person filming him, grinned, and called for Takashi to join him in the living room.

A few seconds later, Shiro appeared and his beautiful eyes widened when they landed on the dog. “ _Adam, Keith, what—_ ”

“ _Happy Anniversary, Takashi_ ,” Adam said softly, leaning up to kiss Shiro’s cheek and hand the yapping puppy over to him. “ _I know that you always wanted a dog._ ”

Shiro, bless his beautiful buff soul, stared at the puppy like he had never seen anything more beautiful in his life and cuddled him close to his chest. Little Guinness started licking his chin. “ _I—he’s for me?_ ” he asked, awed.

“ _That’s right, he’s all yours_ ,” said Adam, sounding very satisfied with himself.

Lance stopped the video and looked up expectantly at Adam and Sanda.

Sanda was chewing her lip thoughtfully. “We can still fight this,” she said but she didn’t sound as certain as she had been just a minute ago. She wasn’t wrong, but Lance knew it would be an uphill battle.

“No, we won’t,” Adam sighed, leaning back in his seat with a resigned expression. He met Shiro’s gaze and nodded. “Guinness is yours.” Then he let go of the leash.

The dog immediately sprinted towards Shiro, who was already kneeling on the floor with his arms wide open. A gorgeous smile spread across his face and he let out a laugh that ignited fireworks in Lance’s chest.

* * *

After that, it was simply a matter of signing the necessary paperwork. While hashing out some of the finer details with Sanda, Lance caught Shiro have a whispered conversation with Adam.

Shiro caught him looking at one point and winked, which was just _rude_ to his poor bisexual heart.

Finally, Adam and Sanda left, with Adam looking...not necessarily _happier_ , but far more content than he had been when he first walked into the firm.

And then it was just Shiro and Lance in conference room 252. Shiro was still on his knees, giving belly rubs to a very blissed-out Guinness. “Lance,” Shiro breathed. “I can’t thank you enough.”

Lance waved his hand. “It’s nothing, Shiro, really.” He joined Shiro on the floor, heedless of how doing so was probably going to ruin his pants, and started petting Guinness as well. “I’m just glad that Guinness is back where he belongs.”

“Still.” Shiro cleared his throat. “Um, is there someone I should talk to about the bill?”

“Don’t even worry about it,” Lance insisted. “Anything for a friend of Allura’s.”

Actually, Romelle had told him to give Shiro a discount, but this was Lance’s client. If he wanted to do some pro bono work, then who was going to stop him?

“Was that all this was?” Shiro asked shyly. There was a strangely knowing glint in his eyes.

Lance gulped and looked away. “Well…”

He jumped when he felt Shiro’s hand close over his. The other man’s palm was full of callouses, which Lance had expected, but his grip was surprisingly gentle. He looked up and met Shiro’s gaze. “Okay, maybe it wasn’t _just_ that,” Lance admitted, feeling warmth creep up his cheeks.

But Shiro didn’t seem surprised to hear that. In fact, if the growing smile on his face was any indication, he seemed _pleased_. “So you won’t mind if I ask for your number?”

“But you already have it,” Lance said dumbly, thinking back to the video he just used to win their argument against Shiro’s ex.

Shiro chuckled. “Alright, let me rephrase that: you won’t mind having dinner with me then?”

Lance almost swallowed his tongue. “Dinner? W-With you?”

Shiro’s face dimmed. “Is-Is that a ‘no’?”

“No! Fuck, I mean _yes_!” Lance stammered. He closed his eyes, forced himself to breathe, and opened his eyes. “ _Yes_ , I would love to have dinner with you," he said, far more steadily than he actually felt.

Shiro’s smile returned in full force, reminding Lance of the sun peeking out of the clouds after a storm. “Does tonight work for you?”

 _Any time with you sounds perfect_ , the small part of Lance that thrived on cheesy romcoms thought.

“Tonight is perfect,” Lance told him instead, smiling back.

**Author's Note:**

> (Title taken and slightly adapted from the lyrics of "Something About Her" by The Kents)
> 
> This fic was inspired by the very real case of [Warnica v. Gering](http://canlii.ca/t/1jl0q), in case anyone was interested. Similarly, as someone who works in an industry that is semi-adjacent to the legal one, I feel it is my duty to add the disclaimer that nothing I've written is in any way accurate to how the law actually works.
> 
> Comments and kudos are much appreciated! And please feel free to yell at me about Voltron and/or anything else at my [Twitter](https://twitter.com/britomarttis)!


End file.
